Jesse Slade and Associates has been helping injured federal employees with their OWCP claims since 2007. If you need help with your OWCP claim, contact Jesse at owcpslayer@gmail.com
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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Agency Contractor Improperly Inserting Themselves Into Claims

It
has come to my attention that there is a
third party contractor called Managed Care Advisors, (MCA) agencies are using to monitor/manage
OWCP claims.

MCA employs physicians and nurses that are improperly inserting themselves into
claims and contact
is being made with your providers (physicians, physical therapists, etc…) in
varying ways including by letter. I wrote about this issue in a previous article but at that time did not know the contractor was MCA.

The letters I've seen that are being sent to your providers are written not on MCA
letterhead, but on what seems to be Homeland Security
letterhead so it appears these are official requests by the agencies under DHS. MCA may also be using letterhead of other agencies as well but as of today, I haven't seen those.

One
such letter was sent by an MCA physician to an employee’s physician and completely and totally
misrepresented the facts. Let me put it this way, very little of this letter was actually true, most of it is fabricated and is about as unprofessional and outside the bounds of OWCP as I've ever seen. The employee had been medically disqualified and retired for some time but MCA's physician stated in the letter to her doctor the employee was "NOT" retired (yes, he used all caps). As if that wasn't inappropriate enough, MCA's physician then states, "The American taxpayers are paying for her medical care and salary compensation via federal workers' compensation (FECA)."It went on to say a "recent" second opinion indicated the employee had "NO residuals" of the accepted injuries, had minimal objective findings on examination and that all the accepted conditions "had resolved". The letter stated the second opinion indicated the employee could "return to her date of injury job without restrictions".The letter stated the employee's doctor could request a copy of this second opinion from the CE which is completely false as well and alluded that the employee worked for Border Protection when, in fact she worked for another agency. It's unknown where MCA's physician got his information since the employee did not have a recent second opinion and is in fact retired. Was he using an old second opinion and stating it was recent or did he just make it all up...we don't know yet.The letter ended by inappropriately asking the
physician to release the employee to return to work and instructed the employee's physician to FAX this release to MCA. It also stated the employee's physician could set up an appointment with MCA's physician to "discuss this case with me" which again is highly inappropriate.

Had
the employee's physician complied or responded without discussing the letter with the employee, this
would have resulted in the employee’s compensation and medical benefits being terminated
by OWCP, effectively ending her legitimate claim.

Another letter to an employee's physician from an MCA nurse misrepresented a C.F.R. and the FECA stating this C.F.R. permitted the physician to disclose information under FECA without a release form. This made it appear it would be legal for the provider to release information without a medical release because the employee had a workers' compensation claim.However, this information isn't true if you actually read the C.F.R.s or the parts of the FECA Manuals that apply.This letter was an obvious attempt to obtain medical records under false pretenses without the employee's knowledge or authorization and once again, the employee had no idea the letter had been sent.

What they are allowed to do is ask your provider about work
limitations and possible job assignments…nothing more.

The agency and/or its contractors CANNOT contact your medical providers in person or by telephone.Your agency or its contractors can contact your providers in writing. If the agency or its contractors is contacting a provider, it MUST be in writing and a copy of the letter MUST be sent to both you and OWCP at the same time it's sent to your provider. If the provier responds, a copy of that response MUST be sent to you.However, MCA employees are not copying the employee or OWCP so the employee does not know this is happening unless a provider alerts them. As you can see from the cases above, this behavior could be VERY detrimental to you and your claim.Your providers have no responsibility to respond to ANY agency request for medical information. Even if asked by the agency about your work ability, the provider does not have to respond. Your providers are only obligated to send medical information to OWCP. If
you have an accepted OWCP claim, I strongly urge you to contact your providers
and inquire if they have received a letter or had other contact by either a
nurse or physician who appears to be working for the agency. In some cases, they inappropriately represent themselves as OWCP nurses.I would also urge you to tell anyone else you know who has an OWCP claim. The word needs to get out about this. The bottom line is, you have NO obligation to allow the employer's nurse or physician access to you, your claim or your providers. But if they do contact your providers, again...it MUST be in writing and you MUST get a copy of the letter and it can only discuss your work limitations. If they don't adhere to this, they're violating 20 C.F.R. 10.506.We are working on addressing this issue legally, but need your help. If such a letter has been received by one of your providers, please forward a copy to me at owcpslayer@gmail.comThe more proof we have, the more likely we are to resolve this issue and end MCA's inappropriate actions and involvement in claims. In
addition, I have created two templates you can cut and paste to protect yourself; one to
give to your providers so that your medical documents are not being
inadvertently released and the other which you can
use if you previously signed an agency medical release and want to revoke that release.

You can find these templates on the How To page: http://theowcpclassroom.blogspot.com/p/letter-templates.html

At some point during your OWCP claims process, you're going to need a narrative medical report from your physician. Your claim won't...

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Jesse Slade

Do you need help with your OWCP claim but just can’t afford the attorney or representative’s costly retainer and hourly rate?

I can drastically minimize those fees by ghostwriting whatever you require, helping you with a strategy, review your documents and/or do the research for you to help you help yourself.

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It doesn't matter if you need help with one issue or multiple issues, I can supply what you need to help you resolve your claim issues at a reasonable fee.

For those who cannot afford the high price of a full-service attorney or representative, contact OWCP advocate Jesse Slade for a more budget minded approach to help with your OWCP claim and get the help you need at an affordable price.

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Contact Jesse at: owcpslayer@gmail.com

Testimonials

"Jesse Slade was my ‘rescue’ to an untenable situation I encountered with OWCP. The deadlines and type of specific documentation claimants must provide from their treating physician to OWCP is non-negotiable. But this does not apply, equally, to OWCP. As a claimant, this lack of quid pro quo is frustrating on various levels (physical, psychological and financial to name a few).

I was sent to a Referee examination (based on manufactured conflict of medical opinion between treating MD and 2nd opinion MD) that lasted less than ten minutes.

But this Referee examination contained conflicting information, yet my employing agency generated a job offer from it. I had to work this new job offer or lose all rightfully earned OWCP benefits but at a cost of new consequential injuries.

With Jesse’s extensive knowledge base in all things OWCP, extensive professional experience and (ultimately) retention of Jesse as my legal representative; in the end, I was successful in having OWCP admit my arguments were justifiable and this specific job offer was unsuitable, along with accepting consequential injuries. Jesse’s total fee was $700.00. This positive outcome would not have occurred without Jesse Slade.” HDW Wisconsin

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Jesse’s knowledge in all the areas of OWCP regulations is superior to any of the expensive attorneys or other firms.

It was a blessing to see Jesse’s website and it saved me from many issues that involved OWCP.

Jesse is just a great person if you need help dealing with issues involving FECA regulations.

I will always recommend Jesse and thanks so much for being there when I needed you on the issues I have had. T.D. Oklahoma

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To USPS employees, Jesse has been a great help to me in the re-opening of my OWCP case that was close since June 2009 for wrongfully terminate benefits due to the IME! My case was re-opened in Sept 2014. Have patience and don't give up!! Jesse knows the Owcp laws!!

Thank you Jesse and I'm glad you helped me with any questions I had!! God Bless and you’re an Angel to me!! Benefits are still coming and it's been a long time waiting!! A.T.

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About 5 months ago while looking for a OWCP attorney I came across a web site called the OWCP classroom, I went over the site and felt like I found the right person, Jesse Slade to handle my OWCP situation so I emailed Jesse and asked for her phone number and I called about my situation.

Prior to Jesse I spoke to an attorney who just wanted me to get an impairment rating so he could get 15% of my award money plus legal fees which I found out from Jesse that it was against the law for an attorney to charge 15% plus fees, so right from there Jesse was the person I needed to handle my case.

Jesse knows the OWCP system and the laws and how it works. I sent my medical records and dr reports to Jesse Slade and she wrote OWCP a letter to my claims examiner asking to add more medical conditions that should of been on my original claim from the get go.

To me Jesse Slade is a life saver and a person I would recommend to anyone who needs help with their OWCP situation. C.N Brooklyn, NY

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The DOL/OWCP can be very complicated and frustrating to navigate and there are many pitfalls you never know about until it is upon you or you are in the pit. I tell people all the time I know more about the Federals Workers Comp process than I ever wanted to know.

Through this gaining of knowledge, that I never wanted, I have used Jesse Slade's expertise and knowledge on a few occasions. I have reached a point, multiple times, that I just could not find the answers.

Jesse is very knowledgeable and knows how to expertly navigate the process as well as give the DOL the exact evidence or cite previous cases that get things moving again.

I highly recommend Jesse to anyone that needs help with DOL/OWCP process. Jesse knows the process and knows the steps to take/boxes to check to cut through all of this government red tape.

I guarantee when the next issue arises, like they always do with the DOL, I will definitely seek counsel and use Jesse Slade to help my family once again. C.S.

I'm a long term OWCP Loss of Wages Compensation, Disability recipient. Over the 30 or so years I've been dealing with OWCP I've found it extremely difficult to make sense of OWCP rules and regulations. So much so that if I happen to be under attack from them, i.e. threatening to cut off my compensation for one reason or another, I stand little chance of making adequate use of OWCP manuals, etc. because my particular PTSD gets activated and all I can do is hang on and try to survive it all.

Since I happened upon the Web Site moderated by Jesse Slade I no longer have to worry about whether or not I understand what OWCP is attempting to do to me because Jesse will explain it in easy to understand language that I can digest even in a heightened state of agitation.

I find this kind of communication extremely valuable. It doesn't matter whether the information has been explained prior, Jesse will still, with deft and patience, explain it all to me again and without the least bit of judgment.

Once I'm able to understand my current situation Jesse will explain what necessary steps I need to take to defend myself from being taken advantage of by OWCP and believe me, they will try and every opportunity to take advantage of someone who may not understand their own situation and what's at stake. I highly recommend Jesse Slade as an advocate for anybody that has to deal with OWCP. K.G., California